Liquid marble based digital microfluidics – fundamentals and applications

Liquid marbles are droplets with volume typically on the order of microliters coated with hydrophobic powder. The versatility, ease of use and low cost make liquid marbles an attractive platform for digital microfluidics. This paper provides the state of the art of discoveries in the physics of liquid marbles and their practical applications. The paper first discusses the fundamental properties of liquid marbles, followed by the sumary of diferent technqies for the synthesis of liquid marbles. Next, manipulation technqiues for handling liquid marbles are discussed. Applications of liquid marbles are categorised according to their use as chemical and bological reactors. The paper concludes with perspectives on the future development of liquid marble based digital microfluidics.